


Spirit of the Magi

by FawkesFire13



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:46:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25904551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawkesFire13/pseuds/FawkesFire13
Summary: Hey folks, Jojo Tang creates a cute little piece of artwork of Tora and Poppy that she generously allowed me to draw inspiration from for this fan fiction. Check out her stuff at @mojos_labratory on IG
Relationships: Tora/Poppy
Comments: 127
Kudos: 145





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It’s holiday season in Narin. Enjoy!
> 
> A shout out to the ladies of the MPL RAMBLING chat, and Jojo Tang for allowing me to borrow her artwork as a inspiration. Be sure to check out her IG at mojos_labratory. 
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!!

Poppy bounced a little as she got out of Tora’s car. She was holding a large plate of chocolate chip cookies she made herself, and Tora was holding two bottles of red wine as he stepped out of the driver’s side. 

The air was frigid and both of them were making little icy clouds with each breath they exhaled. Tora thought Poppy looked so damn squishy and cute wrapped up in a bright red sweater. 

It was Christmas Eve, and Quincey was throwing a party. He claimed it would be “low key” in terms of craziness, but Tora knew better. Truth be told it would probably be a few friends, lots of booze and cheesy ass Christmas movies. Poppy was beyond thrilled about the idea. Tora was indifferent, but seeing Poppy get worked up and excited made him happy too. She was practically wiggling where she stood.

“Come on, Tora! I don’t want the cookies to get too cool!” Tora smiled indulgently. His Hamster had insisted she time the baking of these cookies so they would come out of the oven hot and ready to be packed and would still be warm and gooey by the time they reached Quincey’s penthouse.

“It’ll be okay.” Tora smiled, leading her to the elevator door that would take them from the parking garage to the interior lobby, then they’d need to get access from the bellman and they could take the interior elevator all the way up.

Poppy smiled at Tora as they got in the elevator, and he grinned back down at her. He was never too big on holidays. Not until Poppy fell into his life. He’d spent most of his life watching the rest of the world swirl around him every year, as everything seemed to pick up right after Halloween, and then two and half months of everything getting covered in green and red decorations, Christmas music on every radio station.....it wasn’t really his thing.

Oh, but Poppy was all about that Holiday Cheer. When Tora has mentioned Quincey had invited them to this party she had let out a excited squeak and began making plans to bake cookies and go shopping for wine. The result was this moment now, standing in a elevator with her, radiating excitement. Her hair was in those two French braids that he loved on her. She had sparkling glitter on her cheeks bones near her eyes, wearing black tights that made Tora’s hands itch to touch her, a crimson cable knit sweater and a Santa hat. 

Tora had almost felt under dressed compared to her. Black slacks, black boots, a thick blue 3/4 sleeve shirt and his normal black hoodie.

Poppy had tried to get him to wear a Christmas tree patterned scarf when he picked her up but he had waved it off. 

“We are going to be inside. It’ll be warm enough.”

“But it’s a Christmas party!”

“I know, but I don’t wanna sweat the whole time, Bobby.” Tora argued, taking the two bottles of wine from her kitchen counter as she grabbed the plate of cookies.

Poppy had finally relented on this, and got in his car quickly, then proceeded to flip on the first radio station playing Christmas music and sing along with it all the way to Quincey’s. Tora grinned. Yeah, Poppy was very very excited. 

When they reached the lobby, Tora waved absently at the bellman, Jeffery, who nodded as they went to the next set of elevators. The bellman was sitting at his post, listening to the radio, and a wistful smile on his face. Poppy glanced at Tora. 

“Does he have to stay there all night?”

“Yeah. It’s his job....” Tora didn’t get to finish the sentence, and he watched in amusement as Poppy marched over to Jeffery and wished him a Merry Christmas and insisted he take one of the warm cookies from the plate.

Jeffery looked startled, and glanced at Tora. Jeffery knew who paid the bills around here, the Clan and nobody else. Poppy wasn’t the type of person he normally dealt with. He was unsure, looking at Tora for direction. Tora shrugged. 

Jeffery took a cookie and thanked Poppy. 

“Of course! Hope you like it!” She beamed and scampered back to Tora, who grinned. Holiday Hamster Mode was in Full Force and he found it amusing.

“I’m so excited!” Poppy suddenly blurted as they got inside the sleek metal doors. “I haven’t gotten to go to a decent Holiday party for a couple years now, and I miss it!”

“Ya mean you’re not just excited to hang out with me?” Tora asked teasingly. 

“Oh shush. You know I love you.” She smirked. Tora grinned widely. Yeah, he knew it, but he still enjoyed hearing it. 

“Well, I hope you’re ready for things being a little....loud. Quincey doesn’t do anything small when it comes to parties.” Tora grinned, watching Poppy balance they cookie plate in one hand and pat her braids a couple times. 

The doors opened and Tora got out, and paused. The entire floor was too quiet. 

“Wait.” He muttered. Poppy froze, the change in Tora’s voice making her nervous.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered. 

Tora didn’t answer, but raised a finger to his lips. He motioned for her to move against the wall, and get behind him, which she did. Poppy learned long ago that Tora had a dangerous life and he would stop at nothing to keep her safe. If that meant her following his instructions in situations like this, then that’s what she would do. Tora put them wine bottles down, and used a free hand to guide her behind him.

She felt her eyes widen when she saw Tora lift the gun from his belt on his back.

“....TORA!” She hissed. He had a gun with him the whole time?

“Poppylan....” he turned to her quickly, and whispered urgently. “Quincey is supposed to be having a party. Do ya hear anything?” 

Poppy stopped, straining her ears to hear. No. There wasn’t any noise coming from Quincey’s penthouse. In fact, it was weirdly silent. Tora’s amber eyes burned into her as he watched her register what he already knew. There was something deeply wrong. There should be music and laughter coming from the penthouse. 

Tora pressed his back to the wall and looked at Poppy. This could be dangerous. Did he send her downstairs alone? Or keep her near him? The thought of Poppy heading into the wolves lair alone made him swallow hard. 

“Poppy, I need you to keep your back on this wall and stay behind me.” Tora spoke urgently, body guard mode engaging. “Keep ya head down.” Poppy nodded, bitting her lip, her eyes wide. “I don’t....want ya in danger. So you do what I tell you, got it?”

“Yes.”

Tora stood silently, and faced the penthouse door. He took the safety off his gun. He could feel Poppy staring at him nervously. Fuck it. If it gave him the advantage on keeping Poppy safe, he wasn’t going to be subtle, he would go for a surprise attack. 

Tora braced his body, and glanced back at Poppy. She stood with her back to the wall, clutching her cookie plate like a person might hold a kitten they found on the street. He inhaled once and let his body explode. His foot aimed for the locking mechanism by the door handle, all his force exploding from the one point.

The door slammed open, and Tora drew his gun, pointing it inside. 

“KNOCK KNOCK, FUCKERS!” Tora snarled, eyes sweeping the......oddly empty room.

Quincey shrieked, dropping the cup he was holding and dove into the hall. Gyu leapt behind the couch, fumbling for his own gun. 

“Big Bro?” Gyu called. “Is that you?”

“What the fuck, Gyu?” Tora snarled, gun still pointed at the couch. “You good?”

“Fuck....” Gyu muttered and put his gun away. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Tora growled, slowly putting his gun away after putting the safety back on and giving Poppy an apologetic look. She took a deep breath, and walked towards him. “Wait a sec, let me get Poppy....”

He reached out a hand to his tiny girlfriend and brushed her cheek in apology. She took a shaky breath and gestured to the wine bottles. Tora retrieved them and walked into the penthouse after Poppy.

Gyu was coming out from behind the couch. Poppy smiled brightly, if a bit nervously. Quincey had outdone himself. Twinkling lights hung from almost every available surface. Small snowmen and reindeer figurines and stuffed animals crowded all the corners. The penthouse smelled like cinnamon and vanilla. A fire crackled in the fireplace. He had a whole table of party food prepared. In short, it looked like the results of a late night online shopping binge by a neurotic Santa Clause who had too much spiked egg nog. Poppy thought it was beautiful. 

“The fuck were you two idiots thinking?” Tora said, closing the door behind him, then checked the hinges. He might need to get those replaced soon. 

“What do you mean?” Gyu said, pushing his hair back nervously. “We were minding our own business.”

Quincey came back into the living room wearing a green sweater with the words “Hoe, Hoe, HOE!” across the front in red lettering. “I’m fine too, thanks for asking....” Quincey grumbled. 

“It was too quiet. Thought something had happened. An emergency.” Tora explained as Poppy put down her cookies on the kitchen counter.

“There is a emergency!” Quincey snapped angrily. Gyu rolled his eyes. “Absolutely nobody except you three showed up to MY party!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group decides to have a quiet holiday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you folks enjoy this next chapter. 
> 
> A shout out to the ladies of the MPL RAMBLING chat. 
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!

Tora raised a eyebrow at Quincey, a frown on his face as he looked at his friend.

“That’s not a emergency Quincey.” He stated calmly, putting the wine bottles down on the kitchen counter next to Poppy’s cookies.

“How can you say that?” Quincey spat. “I slaved away for hours decorating and ordering food! I invited 25 people to this! Not a single one answered! I had assumed that most people would show, because that’s what normally happens. I even got the cutest little snow man stationary for it!”

Poppy glanced at Tora, a sad little smile on her face. 

“Well, Quincey. Maybe we can just have a party here?” Poppy asked hopefully. “We have food and wine, and we can watch movies....” her voice trailed off, as Quincey sighed loudly. Clearly the Princess was unhappy. 

“I, of course, am delighted you both showed up.” Quincey explained, and gave a short sigh. 

“Would be a shame if ya wasted all this food.” Tora mumbled, grabbing a few pieces of cheese off one of the party platters and popped them into his mouth. Poppy nodded. Quincey certainly didn’t half ass anything. Where she was used to meat and cheese platters from the local grocery store, it looked like Quincey had got a Michelin rated chef to put together these platters. She counted 7 different types of cheese, about 4 different types of cold cut meats, strawberries, blueberries, grapes of every color, about 4 types of crackers on one platter. And that didn’t include the small finger sandwiches, the two crockpots sitting on the counter, obviously in use, the fruit platter....and several trays that looked like they had come from some high end restaurant and delivered. In short, Quincey could currently feed a small army under siege for a week with all the food he had in his penthouse.

Poppy glanced at Tora. With that man’s appetite, that food might last five hours....

She smirked a little and looked at Quincey, determined to get him cheerful again.

“Yeah, come on Quincey. I wanna watch some Christmas movies with you guys! And wait....I can call Erdene. And Jacob, if you want. Erdene isn’t visiting her family until tomorrow night, and Jacob said he didn’t want to deal with his family until he needed to....whatever that means. So, I can invite them.” Poppy smiled, clearly not going to let this minor mishap ruin her party. “We can get through a lot of this food and I’m sure they’d like it. Besides, I’d love to spend time with all of you.”

Quincey seemed to think this over and nodded slowly. “Okay. Holiday Hang Out it is!” He grinned. Poppy clapped her hands and walked over to to her cookie plate.

“Great! Now you and Gyu need to try one of these! And Tora, get the wine glasses! And we can find a movie to watch!”

Tora reached in the kitchen cupboards for glasses, as Quincey and Gyu bit into Poppy’s cookies. Poppy had made massive cookies the size of Tora’s fist. They looked roughly the size of hockey pucks, and were gooey with a double serving of chocolate chips. Tora was pretty sure they wouldn’t be able to finish them off. There were happy munching sounds and Quincey was demanding the recipe from Poppy by the time Tora had taken down the 2nd glass.

In no time at all they were all sitting around Quincey’s living room and watching A Christmas Carol. Poppy comfortably nestled into Tora’s side, under his arm, Quincey sipping wine and Gyu stretched out and relaxed.

Poppy had texted Erdene and Jacob and was waiting for a response. In the mean time, this was wonderful. Quincey even lit some apple cinnamon scented candles and the whole penthouse was filled with a warm, flickering glow. Secretly, Tora preferred this sort of “party” over Quincey’s typical parties. Too loud, too much alcohol, too many people trying to impress each other.

No, this was nice. He didn’t really get to “show off” Poppy too much. But with Quincey and Gyu, he was comfortable, free to be himself and show what a sweet, gentle, caring girlfriend he had. It also was nice to just not to have his guard up. 

About the time Scrooge was being visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present Poppy got a text on her phone. She looked at it then turned to Quincey. 

“Erdene says she will be here in a hour or so, and wants to know if you want her to bring anything?”

“Just herself.” Quincey smiled, seeming to perk up a bit. “I’ll send Cordy a message too, now that I’m thinking about it. I asked her personally a few weeks ago, but she didn’t know if she’d be in the area....”

His voice trailed off as he took out his phone and began texting. Tora yawned wide enough to crack his jaw slightly and went back to watching the movie. Poppy snuggled in closer to him. 

“Enjoying yourself?” She asked him. 

“Yeah. You?”

“I am. I missed little get togethers like this. Used to do stuff like this with my cousins in Moon Bright a lot.”

“Good. Thought you’d be disappointed it wasn’t a big party.”

“Well, I am and I’m not. I love big parties too. It’s fun to meet new people. But I can also appreciate getting to be with a smaller group too, and you. Just spending time together.”

“Hmm.” Tora placed a kiss on her forehead and she kissed his cheek. “I like this too.”

Her phone buzzed again, and Poppy glanced down. 

“Quincey, Jacob says he can be here a bit later. Probably around 8:30pm, is that okay?”

“Of course.” Quincey waves his free hand, he was still texting with his other. Tora raised a eyebrow at Gyu, who shrugged. 

“Want anything to eat? I’m going to make a plate.” Poppy offered. Tora nodded.

“Anything up there. I know where he got this. Good food.” Poppy sat up, stretched and walked over to the platters and began putting a plate together. Tora followed her with his eyes for a moment and then looked back at the TV. From the corner of his eye he saw Gyu watching him. 

Tora turned to face him, Gyu smiled at him.

“What?”

“Nothing, Big Bro. It’s just....it’s good to see you happy. That’s all.” Gyu said, sincerity in his voice. Tora nodded, a smile growing.

“Thanks, Gyu.” 

Quincey finally put his phone away, looking deeply pleased with himself. 

“Cordy will be here sometime tonight.” He said happily. Tora nodded. He wasn’t exactly a fan of Cordy. Poppy had told him it was probably because both of them were stubborn. She was probably right. But Cordy was difficult for him to read at the best times. But she made Quincey happy....

Poppy came over with a single plate filled with finger foods and a several large strawberries. Tora picked up a couple strawberries and bit into one. Poppy watched him, a soft smile on her face. Tora fixed his eyes on her, silently asking what she was looking at.

“You’re just cute when you’re eating, that’s all.” Poppy grinned, and popped a piece of white cheddar in her mouth. Tora smirked and settled back down to continue watching the movie. 

When the credits were finally rolling and Poppy was crying happy tears, her phone buzzed.

“Erdene says she will be up in about 10 minutes.”

“Oh, I better call the lobby and let them know she will be here.” Quincey yawned. 

While he was doing that Poppy got up to use the restroom and wash her hands to clean off all the crumbs. Gyu stretched and began searching Netflix for another movie that he thought everyone would like. 

There was a knock at the door a few minutes later and Quincey was the first to get to it. As soon as he did, Erdene walked in, clearly happy to see everyone.

“Alright everyone! I got games to play! I got Twister and Giant Jenga!” She announced happily, holding out a large tote bag as Poppy waked back into the room. 

“Oh my God! You brought games! That’s a great idea!” Poppy giggled. “Quincey you’re playing Twister!”

“I’m doing what?” Quincey asked, concerned. 

“Twister!”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of that...” the blonde looked a little nervous. Erdene gave Quincey a almost feral looking smile. 

“Oh don’t worry, Quincey. This is going to be a blast!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twister!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, hope you enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it!
> 
> Shout out to my ladies in the MPL RAMBLING chat. Love you ladies!
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!

Quincey, Tora and Gyu stared at the Twister mat apprehensively. Erdene and Gyu had cleared space in Quincey’s living room and got everyone to take off their shoes. 

Poppy was explaining the rules, a delighted sparkle in her eyes that Tora was beginning to get nervous about. She looked too happy, like she knew something was about to happen and refused to explain it. 

“So everyone pick a side.” Erdene said, taking the spinner out. “I’ll call the spots.”

Poppy giggled and took a side of the mat with Tora, Quincey and Gyu.

“Alright, everyone ready?” Erdene asked. 

“No.” Mumbled Tora. Poppy decided to pretend she didn’t hear. 

“Left hand red.” Erdene called out. All four participants bent over and put their left hands on red. 

“Easy.” Gyu muttered. Poppy suddenly giggled. All three guys looked at her, confused.

“It’s okay... keep going Erdene.” Poppy laughed.

Erdene spun the arrow again. “Alright.....right foot blue.”

Poppy maneuvered herself easily into place. All three of the guys did the same. Tora was beginning to feel this game wouldn’t be too terrible. Just a bunch of stretching. Easy.

“Right hand green.” Erdene called. Poppy frowned and concentrated on finding a dot of green that would keep her upright. Gyu found a dot surprisingly easy. So did Tora. Quincey grumbled and reached his right hand for a green dot. 

“Left food green.”

Poppy giggled and slid her foot forward onto the mat, watching at the guys did the same.

“Fuck.” Tora mumbled. He seemed to just be understanding how complicated this game could get. Poppy snorted at the silliness of the situation. Quincey looked up at her and laughed.

“I get why this is fun now.” Quincey smirked.

About 10 minutes later, as all four of them were contorted over the mat, with Poppy and Quincey laughing so hard they were having a hard time remaining upright, Erdene gave the instruction that brought Gyu down.

“Left hand yellow!”

There was a litany of curses from Tora who seemed to be determined to stay in the game out of sheer stubborn will alone, and he strained to twist his body in a way that would allow his hand to travel to the yellow dot. Poppy stretched to reach her yellow dot, but managed to do so with a almighty reach, her cheeks pink with laughter. Next to her Quincey moved with a surprising grace and used his longer arms to his advantage, reaching over Poppy to touch the yellow circle that was free.

Gyu groaned and attempted to do the same but his foot slipped on the mat and he went down.

“You’re out!” Erdene giggled. “Good try Gyu!” The red haired man got up with a good natured grin and laughed.

“Whew! That was fun!” He grinned as he picked up some finger sandwiches from the countertop. “My money is on Poppy!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Gyu!” Poppy laughed, and shifted her weight a bit to better center herself. Tora bent just slightly and pecked Poppy’s cheek. 

“Oh get a room, you two.” Quincey muttered, which set Poppy off.

“Guest room is free, right?” Tora asked Quincey as Poppy turned a bright red.

“TORA!”

“No! I will not have that room suffer the effects of Tiger Mating Rituals!” Quincey snapped. 

“OhmyGodshutup!” Poppy spat, trying desperately to stay balanced. “No making me laugh! That’s cheating!” Erdene was holding back laughter, her face turning pink as she watched Poppy struggle. 

“Alright! Gyu, you wanna give this a spin?” Erdene asked. Gyu gave the spinner a flick. 

“Right foot blue!” He announced, and took a bite of his sandwich. 

“Fuck!” Tora snarled yet again. “Blue is a pain in the ass!”

“You said that about red!” Quincey pointed out, tensing his body and looking around for a open blue dot he could possibly reach. 

“Red can kiss my ass!” Tora spluttered darkly and craned his neck, looking over Poppy’s shoulder for a blue dot. 

“You guys finished complaining?” Poppy asked, having triumphantly placed her right foot squarely in the blue. 

“She’s too fucking nimble for a hamster.” Tora growled, his teeth grit and his face looking strained. 

“You’d think being 6’3 would making this easier, with your long limbs.” Poppy giggled happily, watching her boyfriend maneuver his rather agile body around the mat. 

“This is silly.” Tora huffed. 

“Yes, but it’s a game.” Poppy countered. “Next one, Erdene?”

Tora groaned.

It’s was another 20 minutes before Tora finally dropped out of the game. Gyu had called the fatal blow that took the Tiger of Ares Street off the playing mat.

“Right foot green!” Gyu called, sitting next to Erdene who was sipping a glass of wine.

Quincey moved first, and with a strained laugh, slipped his foot to the green dot. Poppy was giggled from the stream of curses coming out of Tora’s mouth but managed to find a green dot for her right foot. 

Tora growled, annoyed and unsure how he was going to move. He had been holding his body in weird angles for the past 35 minutes occasionally laughing, mostly cursing. Poppy locked eyes with him and for some reason, burst into giggles, tried to hold back her laughter and giggled again.

“Your....face...” she laughed, tears of happiness in her eyes. Tora grinned, a chuckle working up from his chest, and he tried suppressing it, snorted once, which set Poppy off even harder, and Tora couldn’t stop, he dropped his arm and fell, still laughing with Poppy.

“Out!” Erdene called, giggling with Poppy. Her tiny friend had the most infectious laugh. Tora stood and dropped a kiss on Poppy’s cheek as he left the mat.

“Kick the princess’s ass.” He smirked and sat down next to Gyu.

“Fear my hamster powers!” Poppy mock snarled at Quincey, who rolled his eyes. 

“Right hand red!” Tora called. 

Poppy smirked and got her head back in the game.

It had been 20 minutes. Tora, Gyu and Erdene had all begun cheering and screaming with each new spot called out from the spinner. Poppy and Quincey looked like two pretzels spread over the Twister mat.

At this point, to Tora, it looked like both were staying in the game out of spite. 

“Left hand blue!” Erdene called.

“You got this, sweetheart!” Tora cheered Poppy. 

“I’m getting a ice cream sundae after this!” Poppy hissed through gritted teeth. Quincey looked frazzled too, sweat popping out on his forehead.

Quincey growled and slid his left hand into the blue dot. He let out a huff of air and tried to ignore how much his calves were burning.

Poppy twisted her body, turning to figure out where a blue dot would be that she could put her foot. She could do this...

She spotted a open dot, and braced her body, strained her leg....

Her right arm wobbled and gave out, falling squarely on her butt.

Quincey collapsed next to her, giggling and Poppy laughing so hard she clenched up, holding her sides.

“Oh my gosh!” She wheezed as Tora picked her up, kissing her cheek. “You’re Twister King!” She laughed, as Quincey stood, dusting himself off.

“Oh that was fun!” Quincey laughed. He brushed himself off, took Poppy’s hand in his and placed a kiss on it. “You’re a worthy opponent!”

Tora rolled his eyes as his friends started laughing again. Poppy opened a bottle of water and chugged it about halfway down as Erdene brought out the Jenga box.

“Okay! This one is a bit less physical and more about patience.....” she explained. “And about knowing your opponent’s weakness....”

“Hold on, Erdene! Jacob says he’s downstairs. Let’s wait for him.”

“Good idea.” Erdene paused and looked at Quincey. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Down the hall, second door on the right.”

“Thanks.”

Poppy grinned as Tora came up behind her and wrapped her in a loose embrace. 

“Didn’t know your could bend that much.” He murmured in her ear. 

“Tora!” Poppy hissed, but there was a teasing note in her voice. “You’re so pervy sometimes!”

“Yeah, but you like it.” Tora grinned. Poppy turned just slightly so she could turn and look up into those beautiful amber eyes. 

“Yep. Wouldn’t change it for anything.” Quincey smiled happily behind them as he flicked through some radio stations. It was nice to see Tora so happy.

A few minutes later there was another knock at the door. Jacob was greeted by Gyu, and he was holding another bottle of wine.

“Sorry, I didn’t know what else to bring!” He explained.

“Just yourself!” Quincey called from inside the living room. 

“Well, I’m here.” Jacob said, handing the bottle to Gyu. “Sweet penthouse!”

“Thank you.” Quincey smiled as Erdene came out of the bathroom. 

“Hey, Jacob! We are playing Jenga! You just missed Twister!”

“Oh, that’s good. I’m pretty bad at Twister.”

“Okay, let’s set this up! Quincey, can you clear the coffee table?”

Poppy smiled at Tora. 

“You’re gonna kick butt at this game.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenga time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the brief delay in chapter release. Life got busy for a couple days and I didn’t have a lot of time to just work on this. I hope it’s still enjoyable.
> 
> A shout out to the ladies of the MPL RAMBLING chat. Love you ladies.
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!!!

The Jenga tower had been set. Tora, Poppy, Gyu and Erdene say around the coffee table staring at the stacked blocks.

Quincey and Jacob had opted out, deciding to watch another holiday movie on TV. 

“Alright, rules are simple.” Poppy explained. “Remove a block without making everything crash and stack the block on top of the tower. The person who makes the tower tumblr looses. Then we start over. Simple!”

Tora went first, eyeing the blocks carefully, then tapped a block in the center second to the bottom row. He deftly removed the block and placed it on top with a surprisingly graceful move. Poppy grinned. She figured he would be good at this. Erdene was next. She chose a block in the middle of the tower, removed it easily and replaced it on the top.

Gyu picked his block near the center too, and placed it on top. Poppy went for another lower block, and hers came out a little harder. She frowned and placed the block on top.

Tora smiled and chose his. His fingers steady. 

About 20 minutes later there was frantic shouting around the coffee table at the wobbling tower endured Erdene gingerly tapping the blocks.

“Not there!” Tora hissed nervously. “There too much weight on that side!”

“But there’s only a few levels that have more than one block holding it up!” The lilac haired girl grumbled. “You took the last block that was keeping it steady!”

“Guys, it’s a game! It’s gonna come down.” Gyu added. He had narrowly avoided toppling the whole tower on his last turn. His patience and carefully measured tapping is what loosened his block and allowed him to place it on the tower.

Erdene sighed and looked over the tower carefully, trying to find another block, any block, to move. None of them looked any better. With a resigned huff she went back to the original block, and with a feather light touch, attempted to remove it.

The tower wobbled, and crashed.

Poppy laughed and clapped with delight and Tora watched her, a growing smile on his face!

“JENGA!!” Poppy cried. “You have to set the tower now!” Erdene smirked and began picking the pieces back up, Tora helping.

“That’s it?” Tora asked.

“Yep! And we start all over again!” Poppy added. “Quincey you wanna play?”

“No, I’m good.” Quincey called.

“Jacob?”

“Maybe next game.”

Two games later, Gyu had traded places with Jacob and Erdene had gone to join Quincey. 

“NOT THAT ONE!” Tora growled at Jacob who looked at Tora, his hand poised over the wobbling tower.

Poppy was laughing, covering her mouth with her hand. Tora was taking this game seriously, and Jacob was terrified. 

“Which one?” Jacob asked, hand hovering carefully. 

“Try the side one two rows down.” Tora muttered. 

Jacob’s hands shook slightly, and much to Tora’s amusement, the tower crashed. Poppy snickered, and went to get some cheese and crackers. Jacob was stacking the blocks with Tora when she came back, Tora explaining with intense seriousness how to find loose blocks.

Jacob was listening with unvarnished attention, his eyes focused solely on Tora’s face. The amber eyed man didn’t seem to notice the obvious hero worship happening, and Poppy guessed if she quizzed Jacob on what Tora told him just seconds ago he wouldn’t be able to repeat it. Around the third game, which Jacob lost, there was a knock at the door and Quincey leapt up to answer the door, a eager grin on his face.

“That’s Cordy!” He whispered happily and he opened the door. There she stood, striking as always in black pants, black boots and shimmering green button downed shirt. She looked slightly ethereal. 

The fire haired woman smiled at Quincey, and true pleasure bloomed over his face.

“Hey, SugarPlum!”

Cordelia gave Quincey a peck on the cheek. 

“Hey Blondie. I won’t be able to stay too long, but I wanted to see you.”

Quincey introduced Cordy to everyone who hadn’t met her and she settled in after Quincey poured her a glass of wine and got her a plate of food. Jacob went to join everyone around the couches, and they left Tora and Poppy playing a quiet game of Jenga together.

Poppy watched Tora’s sharp eyes analyze each block carefully before he gently tapped each one. His brows knit together as he considered each piece. 

In fact, Tora accurately predicted which blocks would make the tower fall a few moves before it actually happened. His extremely steady hands touched each block and a knowing smile crossed his face as his would tell them: 

“That one. It’ll bring down the tower.”

It was a side she didn’t get to see too often. The quiet side of Tora. Poppy never took games too seriously, but Tora studied the tower carefully after each block was removed. But he was still smiling a soft half smile the whole time and that made her feel good.

“Having fun?” She asked him. Tora glanced up at her.

“Yeah. This is kinda cool.”

“Good.” Poppy deftly tugged a block from the lower section of the tower and dropped it on top. 

“Are you?” Tora asked quietly. His eyes focused back on the tower, scanning for another block.

“It’s nice seeing everyone happy.” Poppy answered. “This is really fun. Also, I knew you’d be good at Jenga.”

“Oh yeah? Why would you say that?”

“You’re good with your hands.” Poppy gave him a look. Tora gazed at her in a way that set off butterflies in her stomach.

“Oh I am, huh?” Tora asked her. Poppy felt her cheeks growing hot.

“Tora!”

“Yes, Sweetheart?”

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?”

“You know exactly what you’re doing!”

“.......yep.”

Poppy felt her cheeks practically burning. 

“What’s he saying to you over there?” Quincey’s voice called. Poppy and Tora looked over at the blonde, who was staring at them both.

“Ya wanna keep ya pants, Quinceton?” Tora asked lazily, as he plucked another block from the tower and placed it on the top.

“Don’t sass me, Tora! I could see her blush from over here!”

Tora smirked, and Poppy giggled just a bit, standing up. 

“Come on, lets go watch the movie.” She said.

“Ya know, we can easily sneak into Quincey’s guest room....”

“Tora!” Poppy laughed, face still a bright pink. “Absolutely not.”

As it turns out, Gyu had found Home Alone playing on TV, and Poppy wasn’t surprised to find out Tora had never watched it, but loved the fact that he seemed to be enjoying it, snickering loudly at the ridiculousness of it.

After the first Home Alone ended Jacob declared he had to leave and meet his family, and a round of “goodbye” and “happy holidays” was given. 

Half way into Home Alone 2, it was Erdene’s time to leave, and she hugged everyone.

“Keep the games.” She laughed on her way out. “I brought them for the party. Maybe we can have them for another time.” 

As Erdene left, Cordy stood up and went to get another bottle of wine. 

“Where’s your bottle opener?” She asked, rummaging around in the kitchen drawers. 

“First drawer next to the fridge.” Quincey answered. More rummaging. 

“Not there.”

“Are you sure?” Quincey got up to help her. After a few more minutes Quincey frowned. “Well, no worries. I’ve got a spare in my desk.”

Poppy gave him a quizzical look, as did Gyu.

“It’s for late night writing.” Quincey explained. Poppy smiled.

“I’m not judging, Quincey.”

“I’m not explaining to you, I’m explaining to your boyfriend. I can practically FEEL him rolling his eyes....”

“Let me go get it.” Cordy laughed and went down the hallway into Quincey’s room. Gyu went to get another one of Poppy’s gigantic cookies and bit into it with pure glee. Poppy was happy, as Tora had even eaten one. She had sprinkled them with sea salt while baking them, making sure to tone down the intense sweetness of the chocolate by doing so. Maybe next time she would make a peanut butter batch for Tora and see if he liked those.

A couple minutes later Cordy came back up the hallway, a exasperated look on her face. 

“Blondie?”

“Yes Sugar Plum?”

“Were.....these the invitations you were supposed to send?” In her left hand she held a small stack of envelopes with sparkling Snowmen and holly sprigs on the front. 

Quincey stared at them slack jawed, Poppy felt her eyes widen and Gyu choked on the cookie, causing Tora to smack his back once.

“WHERE WERE THEY?” Quincey cried. 

“In your desk.....with the bottle opener.” Cordy answered, holding up said item, her silvery eyes looking both amused and a little sad.

Quincey’s face fell.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hot chocolate and gifts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit shorter of a chapter than I wanted, but I also am trying to make sure the breaks in the chapters make sense. The next one will probably be mostly squishy.
> 
> A shout out to my ladies in the MPL RAMBLING chat. Love you all.
> 
> As always, all the characters belong to Lilydusk!

Quincey looked at the invitations, utterly devastated.

“I can’t believe I didn’t mail them!” He looked at the envelopes, his posture crestfallen. 

Poppy gave Tora a quick glance then jumped up.

“Quincey, I know this wasn’t the party you were expecting, but....truthfully I wouldn’t have traded this for anything.” Poppy said carefully. “I loved that we got to be together like this.”

Quincey had plucked the envelopes from Cordelia’s hands and looked at them thoughtfully.

“Yeah, Quincey. We don’t get to do this a lot.” Gyu added. “You know. At least I don’t. With work and everything...”

Cordelia gave Quincey a faint smile and Tora finally spoke.

“Feels like....family.” Tora muttered softly. Poppy looked over at Tora, a small grin on her face. Quincey’s eyes widened just slightly and then with a dramatic flick of his wrist, chucked the envelopes into the fireplace and watched them crackle. 

“I wouldn’t change it for anything, either.” He laughed. “Now who wants hot chocolate?”

“Me!” Poppy practically ran to Quincey. “Yes! Absolutely I’m up for hot chocolate!”

Quincey grinned brightly and went with Poppy to the kitchen. Cornelia followed, a amused smile on her face. Poppy took charge as she pulled out a large sauce pan, and went into the fridge, taking out the milk, and at Cordelia’s suggestion, a bottle of cream. 

Gyu and Tora watched from the living room, watching Poppy boss the two taller people around with a feistiness Tora found incredibly sexy. He smiled, watching her in her element. She always seemed so capable and sure of herself when she was creating food. He’d watched her shape rice balls and make the most detailed bento boxes. Hell, he spent most of the day prior listening to her explain how to bake massive cookies that had a firm outside and a soft baked center. 

It didn’t make sense to Tora but he could tell it was something she took pride in and he loved that about her. She poured her heart into things that made her happy. Poppy was asking about the type of chocolate Quincey had and spices.

How much did it take to make hot chocolate? Tora glanced over at Gyu, silently asking if this was normal. Gyu shrugged. 

Quincey brought out some solid squares of dark chocolate and Poppy was nodding happily as Tora watched. Personally, he’d only ever had the hot chocolate packets before. The kind you added to hot water and then stirred really hard to break up the powder. This was different. Gyu and Tora watched with interest as she poured milk and cream into the sauce pan and stirred it until it was simmering. Then she broke up the chocolate bars and asked Quincey for his vanilla. When he produced the tiny bottle she poured in a few drops and stirred that around. This was followed by a dash of cinnamon and a single pinch of sugar. She stirred the mixture and then asked Quincey for mugs.

Five mugs were filled with the homemade hot chocolate and marshmallows dropped on top.

“Cheers!” Poppy smiled, handing a mug to Gyu first, then Tora. Quincey and Cordy sat down on the couch as Poppy retrieved her mug and joined them.

Tora looked at his, eyebrow raised.

“I know ya like sweet stuff....” he began. Quincey cut him off. 

“Tora, it’s not all sugar.” Quincey sipped his and let out a happy sigh. Poppy smiled, drinking her own. Gyu took a large gulp and smiled.

“This is great Poppy!”

Tora finally sipped his drink, as Cordy curled gently against Quincey. This wasn’t like anything from a packet. For one thing it was rich and creamy, and the chocolate actually tasted like chocolate. But the cinnamon kept it from being too sweet. It pooled in his stomach like a warm coal, relaxing his body as it did.

Damn....

“This....is really good.” He told Poppy. Her for eyes glittered at him, seemingly delighted he approved. 

“You really like it?”

“Hell yeah. This is great.”

For a short while nobody said anything, just enjoyed the peace of the moment. Outside it was dark, and the lights of Narin glittered brightly. Cordy stood up once her drink was gone.

“I have to go, sweetie. I’ll come by tomorrow. Promise.” She have Gyu a hug, and Poppy when she stood up. Tora still....wasn’t completely comfortable with her, but she gave him a friendly nod and then kissed Quincey’s cheek.

He walked her to the door.

“Love you.” Cordy smiled, and sailed out the door.

Poppy glanced at her phone. 11:45pm. She smiled and snuggled closer to Tora. Quincey watched them both for a few minutes, then stood.

“I forgot.....I was going to hand these out at the end of the party....but, let’s get these out now.”

He disappeared down the hallway, a smug look on his face. Poppy yawned and then looked at Tora nervously. 

“I didn’t buy anything for Quincey specifically. Like...what do you get the guy who has everything?”

“Just smile and accept whatever he gives you. It makes him happy.” Tora explained with a grin. 

“Yeah. He likes to do this.” Gyu explained. “Quincey really has thing about giving gifts.”

Poppy quirked a brow at Tora but didn’t have time to think it over, because Quincey was back, wearing a unicorn adult onesie, complete with golden horn on the hood and a rainbow mane and tail. Poppy felt her eyes widen in surprise. 

“SURPRISE!” Quincey cried gleefully, holding up three brightly wrapped boxes. Poppy felt Tora’s body tense up next to her, and a thought occurred to her. 

“Quincey....you didn’t have to...”

“I know I didn’t. But I did anyway!” Quincey smiled, placing a green wrapped gift on Poppy’s lap, a sliver one on Gyu’s and a gold one on Tora’s.

“Thanks!” Gyu grinned, positive he and Poppy knew what was coming.

Poppy tore hers open quickly, much to Quincey’s delight and burst into laughter as she held up a hamster onesie. 

“Oh my gosh! Quincey! I love it!” She bubbled happily. Gyu was holding his up with a amused grin. A brown bear. Tora stared at his, a horrified expression on his face.

“Open it!” Poppy said excitedly. Tora glanced at her, shot a murderous look at Quincey, and then go gently peeled the wrapping paper off his. He opened the box and pushed aside the tissue paper. 

His tiger onesie lay inside. 

Of course it was a tiger.

Why wouldn’t it be?

Tora looked up at Quincey. His friend’s eyes were wide with excitement. Poppy’s expression was one of undiluted joy, and Gyu was bemused. 

“I’m putting mine on right now!” Poppy bounced up happily. “Be right back!” She ran down the hall and slammed the bathroom door.

“Damnit Quinceton!” Tora snarled. “She’s gonna make me wear this! How the hell am I gonna leave wearing this? You know I have appearances to keep....not just for the clan, but your old man......” 

Quincey waved his hand. 

“Tora, I’m not expecting you to walk out wearing it. Just promise me you’ll wear it at least ONCE for Poppy.”

“For Poppy?”

“Of course for Poppy! Because you know what your delightful little girlfriend is doing right this moment as she’s changing? She’s envisioning her big, strong, handsome man dressed in this fuzzy onesie and imagining how much fun it’s going to be snuggling up with you on her couch tomorrow morning. Because you’ll look good in anything you put on, including a potato sack.” Quincey stated in a matter of fact voice.

Tora glanced at Gyu for help, but the red head only shrugged.

“I’d trust Quincey. He’s probably right.”

Tora frowned, but his eyes looked thoughtfully back at the gift. 

“I’ll think about it.” He muttered quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party winds down and it’s time to head home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the last one, but I hope you all enjoyed this story so far. 
> 
> Shout out to my ladies in the MPL RAMBLING chat. Love you all.
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!!

Poppy came bounding out of the bathroom a few minutes later, looking, as far as Tora was concerned, as beautiful as she always was, but bubbling over with laughter in her new hamster onesie.

“It fits perfectly!” She giggled. “And it’s so comfy and snug! I love it Quincey!” She laughed as she hugged him. Her cheeks flushed and Tora couldn’t resist pinching her cheek when she came over to him and twirled in front of him.

“Behold! I am your Hamster Queen!” She laughed. Tora smirked. 

“Yes, your Grace.” Tora laughed. “You gonna wear yours, Gyu?” The red haired man smirked at the challenge.

“Yep. Be back.” He shuffled off with his gift. Poppy quirked a brow at Tora, curious. He smiled. 

“Maybe later, Bobby. Remember, I’ve got eyes nearby.” He said softly. “But ya look cute.”

Poppy smiled at him and looked at her phone. “Oh my gosh! It’s midnight! Merry Christmas!” She placed a kiss on his cheek as Quincey walked back holding on of her cookies. 

“Merry Christmas, you two.” Quincey smiled. “You know.....I am glad the invitations weren’t sent after all. It’s been a long time since I’ve just had friends over. And not business partners, or.....as not loved ones.” He added. Tora glanced at his friend as he took a huge bite from the cookie. He knew he was talking about Vincent. Wasn’t like Quincey and his old man had a lot of....well, not a good bond there. 

Poppy looked like she wanted to ask questions but decided not to. Gyu was back soon, looking....sheepish. He wore a hesitant smile, as if he couldn’t believe he had somehow found himself in this situation.

“You look comfy too!” Poppy grinned happily. Even Tora managed a smile. Quincey opened the balcony and stepped out onto it.

“You guys should feel it out here.” He called. “Almost cold enough for snow.”

Poppy walked over, guiding Tora with her hand, Gyu in tow. The four of them stood outside, a weird, soft muffled silence in the air. Poppy blew out a icy cloud with her breath. 

“I love this cold air.” She murmured. “It’s the perfect weather for snuggling.” Over her head Quincey shot Tora a LOOK with widened eyes and pointed look on his face as if to say: “SEE?!” Tora smirked just a bit. 

“Well, Merry Christmas.” Gyu added, looking at his watch. “I should probably be getting back home soon, to let Santa in.” He added. 

“If you want to come by tomorrow, you can.” Quincey offered. “Unless you have plans with the family....”

“I might, my sister’s kids can be....loud.” 

Tora watched Poppy yawn. 

“I’m gonna the Hamster home.” He muttered. 

“I won’t wait up.” Quincey added. “I think Cordy will be by tomorrow morning.” He added, waiting for Poppy to turn before giving Tora a wink. Tora rolled his amber eyes once and placed a hand on Gyu’s shoulder by way of a good night, and Poppy hugged Quincey. 

“Best onesie ever!” She giggled. Quincey helped her pack her clothes she changed out of into a paper bag, along with her shoes and gave them to her as Tora munched away on a few more strawberries.

Goodbyes were said, then Poppy and Tora headed out. It was about 1:00am and Poppy was actually feeling the fatigue. It also didn’t help that the hamster onesie was making her feel extra cozy and comfortable. Tora was carrying his carefully in the box still, Poppy smiled at him sleepily. 

“Ya alright there, Bobby?” He asked. Poppy yawned. 

“Seriously, this is so comfy.”

“Well, let’s get ya home so you can sleep.”

“You’re staying tonight, right?” She asked hopefully. Tora smiled. Even Vincent took Christmas off. 

“Yeah, sweetheart. I’m all yours tonight. And tomorrow.”

“Good.” Poppy yawned again. Tora grinned as they walked out of the elevator and she waved to Jeffery who smiled warmly at her. Tora guided Poppy down the next elevator and to his car. 

“Did you have fun?” He asked her. 

“Oh yeah! I never get to see all of you together. At least, not often. And I loved playing Twister with you, and Jenga....” Tora grinned, listening to her softly excited chatter. Her voice was so animated and her face was rosy. She was so beautiful. 

Poppy reached for the radio and again, made sure holiday music was playing, and Tora watched her smile as she buckled her seat belt.

She was asleep within minutes.

Tora drove the rest of the way back to her apartment, listening to the music she had chosen. All happy, silly little songs about snow and Christmas cheer. Even a few of heartfelt joy sung by choirs of powerful singers. He could see why she liked it. 

He thought he would get tired of listening to this music, but ever since November radio stations had been playing various holiday songs, and Poppy would sing along to them all. She had all of them memorized. She sang softly when she was painting. Or cooking. Or even when she was reading. Her voice filled the small apartment and Tora’s dreams when he was sleeping. 

He never told her outright, but he was beginning to enjoy the music, if for no other reason then it seemed to make Poppy glow with contentment.

He pulled into her visitor parking lot, and looked over at Poppy, absolutely passed out. 

“Poppy? We’re home.”

Nothing. 

“Bobby? Sweetheart?”

Quiet snores.

Apparently hamsters didn’t party enough to stay awake past 1:45am. He smirked, and reached into the back seat and pulled the tiger onesie out. He draped it over his shoulders and got out of the car.

Shutting the driver’s side, he dropped his keys into his pocket, and then went to the passengers side of the car and opened the door. He looped then bag containing her clothes and shoes over one arm. 

“Poppy? I’m gonna pick ya up.”

No answer. Tora just smiled. Carefully, and slowly, he unbuckled her seat belt and leaned in to pick her up. If she had been much taller it might have been difficult, but, she was pretty easy to carry. Five foot nothing hamster that she was....

Tora shifted his hold slightly, maneuvering the arm under her knees a bit better, then carefully cradled her to his chest. Using his hip, he nudged the door shut and walked towards the apartment building.

He was half way up the second flight of stairs when Poppy finally stirred.

“You awake?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Want me to put you down?”

“I’m Hamster Queen. I do not walk!” Poppy grumbled with a yawn. She snuggled in closer. 

“As you wish, your majesty.” Tora teased her. Truthfully, he actually really loved feeling her relaxed in his arms like this. When they reached her door he kissed her cheek.

“Okay, Poppy, I need to put you down so I can open the door.” Poppy gave him a sleepy smile, but let herself down, and Tora opened the door, unlocking it carefully with her keys, and walked inside before her, as was his habit now. He turned on the lights and after a quick glance around, nodded at Poppy to come inside.

Sleepily she followed, a content grin on her face.

“I’m so tired!” She said, walking towards the bathroom. “I can’t believe it’s Christmas!”

“Me either. I’m gonna go have a smoke on the balcony.” He added, tossing his tiger onesie on her couch, and setting her bag next to it.

“Okay. I’m just going to clean up and get ready for bed.”

Tora watched Hamster Poppy disappear into the bathroom and opened the balcony door. He lit a cigarette and took a slow drag on it, watching gray clouds roll in heavily. The stars slowly being swallowed by the billowing mass overhead.

He reflected silently, on how very different this Christmas was this year. A lot had changed. While Tora hadn’t “officially” moved in with Poppy, she had made it clear he was welcome here.

A drawer was cleared on the dresser in her room for him, a second toothbrush in her bathroom and his own body wash and shampoo. Even a bit of space in her closet. Her fridge stocked with some of his favorites and he even had his guitar over here now. Hell, under the tiny three foot tall Christmas tree she had purchased and decorated, there was even a present wrapped for him. He had one under there for her too. 

Poppy had changed his life quite a bit, and he was grateful. He stared into the night thoughtfully. When he heard her emerge from the bathroom, still in her hamster onesie. He grinned.

“Ya wearing that to bed?” He asked her. Poppy came over to him and he stunned out his cigarette in the ash tray she had thoughtfully purchased. 

“Of course I am! It’s so comfy!” Poppy laughed. “I’m going to bed. Santa won’t come until we are asleep.” She explained. Tora smirked. 

“Okay, sweetheart. Let me clean up. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Tora planted a kiss on her head. 

After a quick face wash and taking a minute to brush his teeth, Tora undressed and wearing his underwear walked to his drawer and put on a pair of sweat pants before climbing into bed next to Poppy. She wiggled close to him and turned off her light. Tora wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Tora.”

“Merry Christmas, Bobby.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. This is the final chapter in a story that was supposed to be a one shot, but obviously it got away from me. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Shout out to the ladies of the MPL RAMBLING chat. Love you all.
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!

Tora woke up first. The light seeping into the room from the balcony door seemed muted and gray. Tora let his eyes adjust slowly and he glanced at the clock on Poppy’s dresser. 

8:52am.

Hmm.

He wrapped his arm more firmly around Poppy and closed his eyes again. He felt her shift just slightly.

“Tora?”

“Hmm?”

“S’moring?”

“It’s early, sweetheart. Go back to sleep.”

“‘M’kay.”

The tiny woman in his arms yawned once and then stilled next to him. Tora lay there for several minutes, suspended in a moment of pure bliss. Tora waited a few more minutes until he was sure she was sleeping again.

Then he slipped silently out of the bed and walked to the couch, grabbing the onesie and heading to the bathroom. First he took a leak, because damn, he needed to, then he slipped off his sweats and the pulled on the ridiculous tiger onesie. He looked at himself in the mirror and rolled his eyes.

Quincey was absolutely insane. 

Nonetheless, he had promised he would try at least once, so feeling extreme grateful that nobody but Poppy was here, he climbed back into bed behind her and brought her closer to him. He assumed she would be awake soon, but he felt his eyes growing heavy. It wasn’t often he could just sleep in next to her like this, so he fully planned on taking advantage of this moment. He would rather die than admit the damn onesie was actually pretty comfortable. Sorta like wearing a blanket. Quincey even managed to get a size that fit his frame well. 

With a yawn he let himself drift back to sleep.

“Oh my God, Tora!” Poppy’s excited whisper woke him up. 

Tora rubbed his eyes sleepily and blinked up at Poppy who was facing him now, the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face.

“Yeah, Bobby?”

“You’re wearing it!” Poppy breathed out, her voice dripping with excitement. “Oh my God, you’re so cute!”

Tora quirked a brow at her, not sure exactly how to handle this. She had called him “handsome”, or “sexy” before. Even obscene. But “cute” was a new one. 

“Wait! Oh my gosh, it’s got the good....hold still!” Poppy reached over his head and pulled the hood up and Tora felt the light weight of it settle over his head. He waited, Poppy’s face showing nothing but delight. “It’s got ears!” 

Tora smirked and yawned. 

“Ya look cute when you get excited.” He mumbled, and pulled her closer to him. Poppy nuzzled under his chin. 

“You make an adorable Tiger.” Poppy teased him gently. Tora’s stomach picked that moment to rumble. Poppy smiled. “Hungry?”

“Yeah. I can make breakfast.”

“We can make breakfast.” Poppy corrected him. “I was going to make up some eggs, bacon and waffles.”

Tora gazed down at her, and nodded, leaning in for a kiss. His mouth found hers and he nibbled her lower lip gently, Poppy letting out a contented sigh. Tora took his time, giving her a long, leisurely kiss, a kiss that said he wouldn’t mind staying wrapped up in bed with her, claiming her lips, memorizing their shape. 

Poppy pulled away for just a second, her eyes staring into his. 

“I love you, Tora.” She whispered. The amber eyes over her seemed to smolder and melt all at once under her gaze. 

“I love you too, Poppy.” 

Poppy reached up and stroked his face softly with her hand, pushing the loose black strands of hair that were rumpled from sleep out of his eyes, her small hands tracing over his brows, his cheekbones. Tora smiled, enjoying her feather light touch. If there was one thing he would never have enough of with her, it was her touch. Ever since he told her he liked holding her hand, she seemed to go out of her way to touch him, casually and intimately. Stroking his hair, tracing the patterns of ink on his arms or chest, placing kisses on his neck.

Then there were the quiet moments like this, where she seemed intent on finding every detail of his skin. Trying to memorize every angle of his body with those small, delicate fingers of hers. Tora closed his eyes, and her fingertips traced gently over his eyelids. As her hand moved over his lips he kissed them once, his hand coming up to keep his captured prize there.

“Merry Christmas, Poppy.” He mumbled around her fingers. 

“Merry Christmas. Let’s feed the hungry Tiger.” She smiled, and wiggled away from him. She stood up once she slide to the edge of the bed, stretching her arms up and the glanced outside.

“Tora! It’s snowing!”

“It’s what?”

“Snow! Tora! I didn’t think it would snow in the city!”

Poppy took about three large steps and threw open her balcony door. Tora felt a rush of cold air and he stepped out of bed and went over to join her. Sure enough a thin, white powder covered the world outside and the sparkling flakes danced through the air. It wasn’t enough to make everything look like it was a Hallmark movie, but it was still snowing. 

Poppy and Tora stood on the balcony watching the flurries of snowflakes swirl past. 

“I haven’t seen real snow in years!” Poppy giggled. “If it keeps snowing we are going to go play in it!” She stated happily. 

“I’ll bet you Quincey is gonna flip when he wakes up.” Tora laughed. 

Later, as Poppy poured batter into the waffle iron, and Tora scrambled eggs, and fried bacon, they kept glancing up to watch the snowflakes fall. Poppy refused to take off the hamster onesie, claiming it was comfy and she was going to enjoy it. Tora decided to keep his on until at least breakfast was over.

They sat around the table, as Poppy cut strawberries over Tora’s waffles and she poured a almost ridiculous amount of syrup over hers. Tora couldn’t handle the sticky sweet stuff, but butter and strawberries worked really well. Poppy even made him some hot green tea and she drank apple juice. 

It was a very....domestic....type of morning. Tora finally declared he was going to shower, and did so, after helping clean up the dishes. When he was done, Poppy took hers and then glanced outside as Tora was folding his onesie and putting it on the bed.

“I’m going to put the roast in the oven, and then hopefully it’ll still be snowing.” She said, as she took the chunk of meat from the fridge, put it in a roasting pain with seasoning, stock, and then popped it into the oven. Tora smiled, having stayed mostly out of the way and playing a game on his phone. He glanced up. It was still snowing.

So they headed to the roof, bundled up warmly and just enjoyed the strange peacefulness that seemed to rest over all they could see in the crisp, cold day. Poppy even taught Tora how to catch snowflakes wearing her gloves and showing him the tiny crystals before they melted. It was nice to feel such peace. Tora had never really paid any attention to snowflakes before, but Poppy made it seem like each one was a unique piece of artwork that they were privileged enough to catch a glimpse of.

After a hour or two on the roof, Poppy declared it was time to start making dinner. Now, Tora had seen what Christmas dinners were supposed to be like, and told her several times he didn’t want her slaving away to make something big, has offered to cater them food, or make reservations. Poppy shot down all of those ideas. Instead she was determined to make them a meal, but promised it wouldn’t be too elaborate.

What she had decided on was a simple roast, some vegetables, and dinner rolls. Tora had bought a apple pie in the city two days ago and it had been waiting to be eaten, sitting in the fridge since then. It was one of those “bake yourself” pies. They would just need to put it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Poppy hadn’t made a huge fuss. Instead she asked Tora to put on some Christmas music and help her get ready to cook. She had him peel the potatoes, which was a task he had done plenty of times before. She peeled the carrots and then cut them up and added them to the roasting pot. Finally when Tora was done peeling the potatoes she put them into a pot to boil and told him she was making mashed potatoes. Tora watched her move around the kitchen with ease, a small smile on her face. She never ceased to amaze him. He’d watched Alice cook for several years and she got that same look on her face. They both took pride in what they created.

As the potatoes boiled, Poppy wiped her face with a smile. 

“Well those will take a bit to soften up, then I’m letting you squish them with your big muscles!” Tora smirked.

“Whatever you say, Bobby.” Poppy grinned at him, then plopped down on the couch, patting the cushion next to her. 

“Sit with me. Let’s watch a movie.”

They passed the afternoon that way, snuggled on the couch, occasionally getting up to check on dinner. When Poppy stained the potatoes she dumped them into a big bowl with butter, salt, cream, garlic and pepper and handed Tora the potato  
masher. 

It was the fastest she had ever seen potatoes mashed in her life. Tora was very proud of himself. Poppy smirked and had him lift the roasting pan from the oven then handed him the roll of biscuits.

“You pop it open! It always freaks me out.” Poppy muttered, as Tora laughed. But he did the honors and Poppy laid them dough into a baking sheet and popped those into the oven as well.

It was, to put it simply, the best dinner Tora ever had. He had eaten at some of the fanciest, most reviewed restaurants in Narin, has tried almost every single street vendor and small hole in the wall. This was his favorite meal.

Because Poppy has made it for him. Because Poppy was sharing it with him. 

When Poppy had stood up to put the pie into the preheated oven, she came back and looked at him shyly.

“Wanna exchange gifts?” She asked him. 

“Sounds good.” Tora smiled. 

“I got you two things.” She explained, handing him a large, colorful bag. Tora pushed aside the tissue paper and pulled out a black, fleece lined hoodie. He smiled up at her nervous face.

“Thanks, Bobby.” He checked they tag. It was his size. “I love it, sweetheart.”

“Good! Now....here’s the other one.” She offered him a small box that easily fit in his palm. There was a bright red ribbon on it. Tora shook it carefully and something made a soft pinging sound. He frowned, curious and took off the ribbon and then opened the box. 

Inside was a sliver key.

He knew this key and what it belonged to. Its twin rested on Poppy’s keychain.

Tora blinked, unsure and stared up at Poppy, a nervous smile on her face.

“I thought.....well, I wanted to ask you....I like having you here.....” Tora felt something deep in his chest bubble over. A sort of fierce, quiet joy bloomed over. 

“Ya want me to move in with you?” He asked softly. 

“Yes.” Poppy said simply. “I really do.”

“I....yes.” Tora said happily. “But....it’s going to be...dangerous. You know what I do....”

“I’ll still want you.” Poppy answered quietly. “I know I’ll always want you.”

Tora stared at the key in his hand then carefully pulled out his own keychain and slipped the key onto it. He had a new home....

He swallowed thickly, not wanting to let any tears spill over yet, instead he took the box he had for her from under the tree, and handed it to her. He had brought Quincey with him, and purchased the first gift. 

Poppy opened the box carefully, and he watched her face. She beamed up at him, as she shifted the contents. In it were various types of stationary, notebooks, gel pens, and colorful post it notes. Every conceivable pattern he could find. Unicorns, avocados, rainbows, butterflies, stars and even some tiger cubs. Poppy was picking each of them up and giggling.

“Oh, Tora these are so cute! I love them!” She picked up a rainbow printed notebook and flipped over its multiple colored pages. Poppy froze when Tora sat down next to her holding a small box.

“.....Tora?” She choked out, her face going pale.

“Bobby? Wait....why are you...?” Tora eyed her and then chuckled. “It’s not a ring, sweetheart.”

Poppy started breathing again.

“Poppy, ya know I love you. But it’s a bit soon to think like that. But...I know, being with me...it’s not easy. I can’t take ya out too much, because of what I do. I need to keep ya safe. But I don’t want you to ever think you’re not...perfect. I never want ya looking in the mirror and doubting that you are my world now. So....I thought, I could get you something...to wear.”

He handed her the small box and she opened it carefully. Nestled in the black velvet jewelry box was a small pendant on a silver chain. It was a exquisitely carved poppy flower about the size of her thumbnail. The petals made from a coppery, amber stone, luster of gold and silk.

“Tiger’s eye.” Tora supplied. “The stone. I just.....want you to know I’ll always care about you, you’re....everything.” He fumbled with his words a bit, unsure, feeling intensely vulnerable. “I just wanted you to have something....that was....from me.”

Poppy stared up at him, tears slipping from her eyes, her lower lip trembled.

“Sweetheart?” Tora asked nervously. 

“Help me put it on!” Poppy blubbered, taking the necklace out of the box. Tora kissed her forehead and took the necklace from her shaking hand as she pulled her hair out of the way.

Tora fastened then necklace around her neck and Poppy wiped her eyes. More tears spilled over. Tora had come to know that she cried even when she was happy so he waited a moment, then wrapped her in a tight hug.

“I love you, Tora.”

“I love you too, Poppy.”

Sometime later, after they finished the pie, and they stood on the balcony in the clean, icy air, the reality of everything hit Tora. He had a home.

Not four walls and a couch. 

A real home.

Poppy was watching him, the emotions passing over his face, in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug.

“How was your Christmas?” She asked him. Tora looked down at her, unsure how to articulate exactly what he was feeling.

“I’m with you. So pretty fucking amazing.” Tora answered truthfully. 

“Good.”

“How about yours?” He asked her, genuinely curious.

“I got to see you in a cute tiger onesie. Best gift ever.” She teased.

Tora smirked, later that night as they got ready for bed. Mentally, he was already planning on when he could move his stuff in. Probably not until after New Years. But, soon. Poppy was insisting on wearing the hamster onesie to bed.

“It’s fluffy and comfortable!” She argued, as she zipped herself into it. “Admit it! You like yours too!”

Tora laughed, and finally just shook his head. He sighed and zipped his tiger onesie up. 

“Just don’t tell the Princess, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”


End file.
